London Burning

Multiple blasts paralyse London

Firefighters aid an injured passenger at Aldgate station Several people have been injured after explosions on the Underground network and a double-decker bus in London. A police spokesman said there were "quite a large number of casualties" at Aldgate Tube Station.

The map at the bottom shows where the explosions occured. It makes me anxious, to be honest. One of the explosions happened at Edgeware Road station. My sister lives at nearby Notting Hill. And since the bangs happened around communing time, I'm a little bit scared for her. I've sent off one email, but I've recieved no reply.

How quickly people find things out - even in this part of the world. One teacher got a phone call from an acquaintance watching CNN. People overheard, and asked questions. Others hit Google News. Distressing pictures were shown. (For example, this picture of a bandaged woman was on the front page of the BBC when I was viewing it.) All of this in under an hour. Another hour later, I hear there are two confirmed fatalities, with more to come.

Many of my teachers are from the U.K., if not from London itself. More than half have visited that city. Some had lived there. Many have relatives in that city. In this school, the London explosions are a big story.

My prayers go out to all involved in the blast. Especially my sister. May she be safe.

UPDATE: My sister emailed me (and family and friends) to say she is safe. She even apologized for her "blanket email". No apology necessary: I'm glad to know she is alive.

Meanwhile, Darp also posted on the subject with the exact same title. Don Arthur of Catallaxy analyses the parallels with Madrid.